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Play is one of the most important activities in child development. Children with special needs are often excluded from play activities due to the nature of their impairments.
This paper describes the use of two types of robots with very different configurations, one humanoid robot (KASPAR) and one mobile robotic platform (IROMEC), in a six month lo...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... experimenter instructed the children to do the same movements KASPAR did or to clap their hands in order to reinforce the feedback. The play was performed several times until the child lost interest (Figure 8). For non-verbal children we designed three PECS symbols to explain the rules of the game. ...
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Citations
... The second main objective addressed was improving the participants' communication and social skills (12) such as turn taking in rule games [9,20,31,33,39,41,46], joint attention [31], imitation [31,33,39] and group regulation behaviors. Studies with children with sensory, motor and speech impairments included as well communication goals related to improving the use of alternative communication Systematic or narrative reviews, meta-analyses and theoretical papers 1 TCExEdu ...
... The second main objective addressed was improving the participants' communication and social skills (12) such as turn taking in rule games [9,20,31,33,39,41,46], joint attention [31], imitation [31,33,39] and group regulation behaviors. Studies with children with sensory, motor and speech impairments included as well communication goals related to improving the use of alternative communication Systematic or narrative reviews, meta-analyses and theoretical papers 1 TCExEdu ...
... The most frequent goal was to facilitate the understanding of concepts related to the STEM areas. The level of success at achieving the different objectives varied from child to child depending on the nature and severity of their disability [39]. ...
Robot-based activities have been proven to be a valuable tool for children with learning and developmental disabilities. However, their feasibility in general educational environments needs further exploration. This scoping review provides a critical examination of robot-based learning experiences involving children with disabilities, implemented either in mainstream schools or in specialized centers in order to gain insight into their potential to support inclusion. For this purpose, a search was conducted in the multidisciplinary Scopus and WoS databases, completed with Dialnet database. Based on PRISMA guidelines for literature reviews, we limited the systematic analysis to 33 papers published after 2009 that contain information on the instructional design and details of how the activities were implemented. On the other hand, studies reporting interventions with robots for clinical purposes were excluded as well as papers focused exclusively on technical developments. Content analysis shows that most experiences lead to improvements in terms of educational goals and/or stakeholders’ satisfaction. However, the analysis also reported issues that may hinder the adoption of these practices in general classrooms and integrated education services. The reported difficulties include the lack of stability and autonomy of the robots used, the need for aids and adaptations to enable children with sensory and physical impairments to interact easily with the robots, and the requirement of technical support with system’s setup, implementation and maintenance. We conclude that robots and robotics are a powerful tool to address the needs of diverse learners who are included in mainstream classrooms. This review aims at presenting evidences of good practices and recommendations for successful implementation.
... As for mode of delivery, most of the included studies described an intervention delivered in-person (84/94, 89%) [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][86][87][88][89][90][91]93,94,[96][97][98][99][101][102][103][104][105][106][107]109,[111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124]127], mainly using a one-on-one approach. A total of 11% (10/94) of included studies evaluated an AI intervention that was delivered remotely [51,85,92,95,100,108,110,125,126,128]. ...
Background
In the last decade, there has been a rapid increase in research on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve child and youth participation in daily life activities, which is a key rehabilitation outcome. However, existing reviews place variable focus on participation, are narrow in scope, and are restricted to select diagnoses, hindering interpretability regarding the existing scope of AI applications that target the participation of children and youth in a pediatric rehabilitation setting.
Objective
The aim of this scoping review is to examine how AI is integrated into pediatric rehabilitation interventions targeting the participation of children and youth with disabilities or other diagnosed health conditions in valued activities.
Methods
We conducted a comprehensive literature search using established Applied Health Sciences and Computer Science databases. Two independent researchers screened and selected the studies based on a systematic procedure. Inclusion criteria were as follows: participation was an explicit study aim or outcome or the targeted focus of the AI application; AI was applied as part of the provided and tested intervention; children or youth with a disability or other diagnosed health conditions were the focus of either the study or AI application or both; and the study was published in English. Data were mapped according to the types of AI, the mode of delivery, the type of personalization, and whether the intervention addressed individual goal-setting.
Results
The literature search identified 3029 documents, of which 94 met the inclusion criteria. Most of the included studies used multiple applications of AI with the highest prevalence of robotics (72/94, 77%) and human-machine interaction (51/94, 54%). Regarding mode of delivery, most of the included studies described an intervention delivered in-person (84/94, 89%), and only 11% (10/94) were delivered remotely. Most interventions were tailored to groups of individuals (93/94, 99%). Only 1% (1/94) of interventions was tailored to patients’ individually reported participation needs, and only one intervention (1/94, 1%) described individual goal-setting as part of their therapy process or intervention planning.
Conclusions
There is an increasing amount of research on interventions using AI to target the participation of children and youth with disabilities or other diagnosed health conditions, supporting the potential of using AI in pediatric rehabilitation. On the basis of our results, 3 major gaps for further research and development were identified: a lack of remotely delivered participation-focused interventions using AI; a lack of individual goal-setting integrated in interventions; and a lack of interventions tailored to individually reported participation needs of children, youth, or families.
... Another previous related work is ''Make it move'' [29]. This project describes the use of two types of robots to support the activities of children with different levels of cognitive and social disabilities such as ADHD. ...
... The humanoid robot (KASPAR) and one mobile robotic platform (IROMEC) [29] are focused on the previously mentioned cause and effect game called ''Make it move''. Here the limitation is that all instructions are provided by a therapist, who also controls and limits the interactions with both robots, which in turn means that the child cannot use these robots freely by itself. ...
The Central Nervous System of humans continuously evolves when children engage in new activities. These activities are progressing from learning to eat as a baby over playing during childhood up to homework in all its dimensions. These activities, which are meaningful and relevant to everyone, constitute what occupational therapists call “occupations”. The successful execution of these occupations makes the development of new roles as well as the construction of a correct state of health possible. Due to these reasons, occupational performance is a fundamental part of development throughout childhood. Homework is complex and extends beyond the school context to the home. For many children, the performance of these homework items is a difficult challenge or even impossible to overcome without the help of an adult. This article presents the design, implementation, and functional validation of an intelligent home environment that uses homework activities as a support tool for children with or without attention disabilities. In this project, the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm is combined with the development of robotic assistance to implement an intelligent home environment. In this environment, we have included intelligent things (where the usual study chairs and desks become smart objects) that determine in real-time the child’s behavior during the development of homework and a robotic assistant which interacts with the children providing the necessary accompaniment (supervision and guidelines) just as a therapist would do. This development has been functionally validated by tests on several school-aged children without pathologies. In a later phase of the study, the proposal will be validated with children with different pathologies with an impact on learning, including Attention Disorder Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The goal is the generation of intelligent places for therapeutic purposes within the home as assistance for children having difficulties to work with their homework assignment due to ADHD.
... In previously conducted research, Deckers et al. [8] designed an artefact embedded with different perceptive behaviors in the form of dynamic light movements when the presence of a person is detected while Marti [17] developed a companion robot capable of experiencing perceptual crossing with a child to stimulate the child's reflection during playtime and to allow the child to learn social competence with a companion robot. (i.e. ...
... Deckers et al. [8] and Marti claim their experiment uses perceptual crossing paradigm which engages the object with a human subject. Nevertheless, the framework of Deckers et al. [8] and Marti [17] were focused mainly on the human presence and engagement. This, nonetheless only illustrated the unidirectional activity of the reactive human-object interaction and not the intention of the intentional object. ...
... Robots can be a useful tool as a playmate even if they are teleoperated. 18 However, their lack of autonomy is a severe drawback. More autonomous approaches like Leonardo focus on joining social interaction and gaming to increase the children's commitment with the therapy. ...
... In everyday social life the ability to engage in activities requiring shared attention is the key to understand the interaction partner as an intentional agent and to form cooperative strategies based on this understanding. Spitzer [73] and Lehmann et al. [74] looked into the function of play for children with autism, to develop and improve this ability. Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging technology for learning and teaching including special needs education [75,76,77]. ...
Digital Learning Material (DLM) are fast becoming a key instrument in teaching. The focus on E-learning systems with Digital Learning Material (DLM) is mostly on the medium and resources, instead of on the role of teachers. But like students, teachers also need to professionalize their digital competencies. And rather than describing how the teacher should take up his/her online role, teachers can also be trained by using online materials and experiencing DLM themselves. Therefore the first objective of this study is to design an e-learning system with DLM to train seven vocational math teachers. The second objective is to investigate the aspects of the learning activities in terms of “learning engagement,” “teachers’ self learning process” and “professional learning to enhance teachers’ knowledge.” In this research, teachers participating in this project had a 6 week online training in an e-learning system with DLM. After this, teachers completed the questionnaires on these aspects. Teachers were satisfied with the components “learning engagement” and “teachers’ self learning process.” They specifically appreciated the domain-specific literature and the online moderation of the expert teacher. With regard to the component “professional learning,” teachers did not collaborate and only three teachers abstract and detach information from its original context and applied to it in new contexts by their questions and contributions in the forum discussions. For other teachers the “space to act and arrange” seemed too broadly. Future study should pay more attention to the development of assignments that require specific tasks in collaboration between the teachers.
... Teachers have reported improvements in children's behaviour. 17 Collaborative and play skills among children with ASD have shown improvement following sessions with Kaspar and another child, 16 and carers are positive about the effects of the intervention on their child. 15 The use of robot-assisted therapy with children with ASD is a rapidly growing area. ...
Introduction
Interventions using robot-assisted therapy may be beneficial for the social skills development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are lacking. The present research aims to assess the feasibility of conducting an RCT evaluating the effectiveness of a social skills intervention using Kinesics and Synchronisation in Personal Assistant Robotics (Kaspar) with children with ASD.
Methods and analysis
Forty children will be recruited. Inclusion criteria are the following: aged 5–10 years, confirmed ASD diagnosis, IQ over 70, English-language comprehension, a carer who can complete questionnaires in English and no current participation in a private social communication intervention. Children will be randomised to receive an intervention with a therapist and Kaspar, or with the therapist only. They will receive two familiarisation sessions and six treatment sessions for 8 weeks. They will be assessed at baseline, and at 10 and 22 weeks after baseline. The primary outcome of this study is to evaluate whether the predetermined feasibility criteria for a full-scale trial are met. The potential primary outcome measures for a full-scale trial are the Social Communication Questionnaire and the Social Skills Improvement System. We will conduct a preliminary economic analysis. After the study has ended, a sample of 20 participants and their families will be invited to participate in semistructured interviews to explore the feasibility and acceptability of the study’s methods and intervention.
Ethics and dissemination
Parents/carers will provide informed consent, and children will give assent, where appropriate. Care will be taken to avoid pressure or coercion to participate. Aftercare is available from the recruiting NHS Trust, and a phased withdrawal protocol will be followed if children become excessively attached to the robot. The results of the study will be disseminated to academic audiences and non-academic stakeholders, for example, families of children with ASD, support groups, clinicians and charities.
Trial registration number
ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN14156001); Pre-results.
... In everyday social life the ability to engage in activities requiring shared attention is the key to understand the interaction partner as an intentional agent and to form cooperative strategies based on this understanding. Spitzer [73] and Lehmann et al. [74] looked into the function of play for children with autism, to develop and improve this ability. Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging technology for learning and teaching including special needs education [75,76,77]. ...
... As a Friendly Playmate Social robots can participate in enjoyable and engaging play activities with children with autism [34,45,47,51,83]. As opposed to group therapy sessions, one-child-one-robot scenarios allow the robot to direct its entire attention to a single child, with play activities that are personalized to a child's needs and preferences [41,45]. ...
... Important target behaviors include imitation, eye contact, turn-taking and self-initiation, as discussed in the earlier sections. These activities are designed to promote sensory, cognitive, social, emotional and motor developments [34,45,47,83] in order to improve the deficits caused by the disorder. Some examples of such activities include teaching a child to initiate greetings, to wait for its turn to throw the ball, to follow the robots gaze to an object of interest and to copy the robots movements as it dances. ...
... Some of the recent works on interactive rehabilitation games are seeking for the benefits of including this kind of game-like applications in rehabilitation procedures of cognitive and physical disorders [2,[5][6][7]. Other lines of research provide cognitive robotic architectures to control and supervise rehabilitation sessions with a humanoid robot [1,3]. ...
The development of social robots is becoming a main research area within rehabilitation processes. The engagement of the interactive robots with the patients, specially with kids, favours both the evaluation of the patient and the development of the therapies, which currently consist mainly in the execution of iterative exercises and games. This paper describes the deployment of a version of the popular electronic Simon game where, instead of repeating colour sequences, the player must repeat the sequence of poses performed by the robot. The repetitive nature of this particular game is not only believed to be beneficial for the children's rehabilitation process but further provides a fun flavour to the therapeutic session. For the development, we use the NAOTherapist architecture that, given its modular design, permits the integration of new use-cases and/or robot platforms easily and only with a few steps; in this case, the formalization of the game in the Planning Domain Description Language (PDDL) used by the architecture; the mapping of the PDDL actions to the low-level instructions of the robot (the low level actions), and the mapping from low level sensor information to PDDL predicates which are used to monitor the execution of the plan (the game) and re-plan when needed. In addition to the technical issues , this work seeks to maintain a high level of human-robot interaction quality, evaluated with real users. The analysis of the empirical results and the questionnaires of people of different ages and backgrounds who tested the game is presented as well.
